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Proposed License Change for Mach-II 1.8

With the upcoming release of Mach-II 1.8 we are strongly considering a license change for Mach-II from the Apache 2.0 License to the GNU General Public License Version 3 (GPLv3) with a Classpath Exception. After much discussion we feel this is the best decision for the future of the project.

Please read the following draft announcement of this proposed license change and let us know your feedback. Unless you're in an unusual situation in terms of how you use Mach-II, this license change will have zero impact in terms of how you are able to use Mach-II with your projects whether they be commercial or open source.

If you have specific questions or concerns  about this license change that you don't want to address on the public list or via comments to this blog post, please feel free to email us directly at team at mach-ii dot com.

Please note that at this point this is a PROPOSED license change. We have not made the final decision to make this change and wanted to hear from our users before we did so.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

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Mach-II License Change

With the release of Mach-II version 1.8, the license under which Mach-II is distributed is changing from the Apache 2.0 License to the GNU General Public License Version 3 (GPLv3) with a Classpath Exception. Given the plans we have for upcoming versions of Mach-II, we feel that this license change is best for the future of the project and for our users.

Why is Mach-II changing to a different license?

Changing to the GPLv3 License with Classpath Exception will:

  • Ensure that changes made to Mach-II are contributed back to the project. We hope this will help foster and grow the community around the Mach-II project, which will benefit all Mach-II users.
  • Allow us to leverage additional existing open source libraries when needed. The GPL license and its variants are the most predominant licenses used in open source projects. With an Apache 2.0 License, Mach-II is not able to take advantage of any existing GPL code. With the GPL License, Mach-II will be able to leverage open source code released under practically any license.
  • Reduce the potential for forks and derivative projects. The development of Mach-II has required more than nine man years and nearly $700,000 of effort (based on COCOMO) to date. We want to protect that investment for the benefit of the project and our users.


In addition, we feel that the Apache 2.0 License is more appropriate for complete applications than it is for frameworks and libraries such as Mach-II. In our opinion, the GPLv3 License with Classpath Exception is a more sensible license to use for a framework.

Does this license change affect Mach-II users?

No. You may continue to use Mach-II free of charge and without restriction in all of your projects.

Does the GPLv3 License mean I have to open source my application code that uses Mach-II?

Absolutely not. The GPLv3 License is itself a copyleft license, but due to the Classpath Exception included in the new Mach-II license, you are free to use unmodified versions of Mach-II in any project, whether it be open source or closed source, free or commercial.

I have a Mach-II application that I distribute. Can I still distribute my application bundled with Mach-II?

Yes. If you are using an unmodified version of Mach-II, your application may be distributed as part of the GPLv3 + Classpath Exception License.

If I make changes to the Mach-II core for my own or my company's use and don't distribute the changes, do I have to make these changes available as open source?

If you make changes to the Mach-II core and do not distribute the changes as either a standalone modified version of Mach-II or bundled with an application, you are not required to make these changes available as open source under the terms of the license.

We strongly encourage you, however, to share your new features in Mach-II and ideas for changes with the project so that they can be considered for inclusion in a future version of Mach-II. This benefits the Mach-II project and all its users.

If I make changes to the Mach-II core and distribute these changes either as a modified version of Mach-II or as part of an application, do I have to make these changes available as open source?

Yes. Under the terms of the GPLv3 License, any changes made to the Mach-II core that are distributed either as a modified version of the Mach-II core or as part of an application must be made available as open source. This does not mean, however, that the application being bundled with the modified version of Mach-II must be made open source. Only the changes to the Mach-II core itself would fall under the copyleft provisions of the GPLv3 License.

How does this affect the licensing of previous versions of Mach-II?

Previous versions of Mach-II will remain licensed under the Apache 2.0 License that was applicable at the time of their release.

Where can I get more information?

If you have concerns about how this license change affects your Mach-II projects or have general questions that are not addressed here, please send an email to team@mach-ii.com or post to the Mach-II Google Group and we will be more than happy to assist you. If you want to learn more about the GPLv3 License, please refer to the GPLv3 license page, the GPLv3 FAQ page, and the Classpath Exception page on the GNU Project web site.

Announcements, Mach-II 1.8  |  Send
Posted 10/13/09 @ 2:41 PM by Matt Woodward